Midnight Shift Ramblings

This is the offspring of a conversation I had with a coworker that turned into a chat about death and mortality.

The sun has set beyond the silent mountain vista

The world of lush green forest is now hidden in darkness

But above that darkness a different beauty appears

The once blue sky is now a velvet black filled with brilliant pinpoints of light

I am awed at the universe and its unimaginable size

I feel small, tiny, but at the same time joyous

I am but a grain of sand on a huge beach, a massive desert

But I am still a piece to that infinite jigsaw puzzle and

without me that puzzle can never be complete

This was originally going to be about my dad but it never really developed into being about him.  Instead it really is just saying that when one thing dies another is born.  Day gives birth to night and vice versa.  A beautiful landscape disappears in the darkness but it’s replaced by a brilliant starlit night.  Are living things like that?  Do we crossover into another plane of existence or do we just cease to be?

I used to think we were just a molecular accident, a strange brew of universal elements that bumped into each other to create the meat stew that is humanity.  Now I prefer to think of us as an example of the rule not an exception to it.  Day turns into night, winter into spring, I refuse to believe that we are some cosmic anomaly that simply turns to dust.

The last part just says we all matter.  No matter how we see ourselves, be it a grain of sand on the desert, a pebble or a bolder on a beach without us the universe (beach) is not the same.  Without us it is incomplete.

HOW DOES MILLER HIGH LIFE TASTE IN HEAVEN?

After an awesome week off work I’m back in jail.  Ironically enough while reading some bible passages I wondered across the following:

“My soul waits for the Lord more than Watchmen wait for the morning” Psalm 130

On this Saturday morning / Sunday night boredom reigns supreme over chaos in my little piece of hell.  I am that Watchman and I’m sorry to report that I have 401 minutes left until 7am.  God definitely has a sense of humor.

On a more serious note Sue and I took my mom to my dad’s grave site.  It was our first time there.  It was a beautiful sunny day, not too hot, not too cool. 

After some aimless wondering around Sue found dad’s final resting place.

Dad’s in a pretty nice spot, right by a tree, near enough to sometimes be in its shade far enough away so that he’s sometimes in the sun.  My sister comes out often so goodies were lined up by his headstone and at his feet.

We stood quietly none of us fighting off the tears that ran down our cheeks.  It was with a bitter sweetness that my ma broke the silence by telling dad his pool was open (again thanks to my Sis Marcie).  She then said “Ok Pa we’re going to go now”.  I said a quick prayer and with that our first visit was over, short and sweet (I’m sure just as dad would have it)

As we were leaving I hollered back to dad that next time we would bring him a beer and a cigarette.

Today’s lesson brought to you by the letter “P”

25 May 2011

Not sure where I heard this (Seinfeld maybe?).  The #1 fear people have is speaking in public, the #2 fear is death.  So if this is the case at a funeral more people would rather be in the casket than delivering the eulogy.

Last night I gave what’s called the “Company Overview” to potential new hires for the first time.  There were only two candidates but I didn’t practice the material like I should have so it didn’t go as well as I would have liked.  In fact I thought it went horribly.

I’m reassured by the fact that everyone says they stunk the first time and that usually it went better than they thought.

This presentation is one of the most important aspects of our business so I’m humbled and honored that the office VP’s have put their faith and trust in me to conduct the presentation.

The Candidates – the two candidates were both very sharply dressed and gave the impression that they might be awesome additions to our team.  They were both attentive and gave the appropriate answers to my questions.  The one difference between the two was in their body language.  One seemed to be getting bored and antsy during my talk.  I let it distract me and I rushed through the material and I wasn’t as loose or as light hearted as I would have liked.

Upon the end of our presentation I find out who would like to go onto the next step of the interview process.  One candidate did want to proceed the other did not wish to pursue a position with us.

I followed up with the guy that looked bored silly throughout my spiel.  He was the one that wanted to be scheduled for a follow up interview.  After I scheduled him we talked for a few more minutes.  He said the presentation was very interesting and we discussed some key points.

It’s amazing how he went from being a stuck up jerk in my mind when I felt he was judging me as a boring windbag, to a super smart, nice guy when I realized my knee jerk reaction about him was wrong.

Today’s lesson brought to you by the letter “P”

We are burdened with prejudice; against the poor, or the rich, the smart or the slow, the gaunt or the obese.  It is natural to develop prejudice.  It is noble to rise above them.”  ~ Author Unknown